hollyh Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Hi! So I want to actually start doing nature journals as a more formal thing... 3 questions 1. What size journal do you all advise for 9 & 6 year olds. I was looking at a 9x12 but that seems big and a 7x10 seems right, but figured I would check with you more experienced mamas! 2. What are your favorite resources that you utilize? 3. Any other tips? :) Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Ours are 5.5x8, which is perfect for us. We bring the journals with us on our nature walks, so anything bigger would be too heavy/bulky. We use the mixed media Strathmore Visual journals and the paper is really nice for watercolour pencils. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 We just used watercolor paper and put individual sheets in page protectors in a regular binder. We could attach photographs and add things like pressed flowers and feathers. I used a binder with a pocket on the front so dd could draw the cover. I scribed for her in preschool and kindergarten. Here's a peakhttp://www.twilightandsunrise.blogspot.com/2008/01/nature-girls-k-and-grade-1-nature.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I really like John Muir Law's book on Nature Journaling and Illustrating Nature by Irene Brady. http://www.amazon.com/Laws-Guide-Nature-Drawing-Journaling/dp/1597143154/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458827680&sr=8-2&keywords=nature+journaling http://www.amazon.com/Illustrating-Nature-Right-Brain-Left-Brain-World/dp/0915965089/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1458827925&sr=8-22&keywords=nature+journaling 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 A nice adjunct to this might be this book: http://www.gibbs-smith.com/A-Crow-Doesnt-Need-A-Shadow-P8.aspx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raising Little Shoots Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I have written about this very topic on my blog: Keeping a nature journal Getting Started With Nature Drawing For Both Parent and Child - This post also links to a tutorial I shared on creating a watercolour journal entry. Supplies For Nature Journaling I hope they are helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raising Little Shoots Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 A nice adjunct to this might be this book: http://www.gibbs-smith.com/A-Crow-Doesnt-Need-A-Shadow-P8.aspx That looks really lovely, thank you for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I have written about this very topic on my blog: I hope they are helpful! I didn't know you had a blog! There goes my afternoon... To the OP: I highly recommend Lynn's ebook Exploring Nature With Children. I have been using it for the last month and a half and have really enjoyed it. I would especially have loved to own it when we got started with nature journaling because it pulls all the resources together for you and makes it easy. To Lynn: When we did your earthworm study (4 weeks ago I think? maybe 5) we made the wormery. The dc have LOVED having "pets". They feed them every 5 days or so and are amazed that the worms eat all the food they are given. (Spinach and kale are favourites.) They started with very coarse soil and have made all of it smooth. They stirred the sand into the dirt and have made tunnels everywhere. It has been a highlight of our nature studies this year! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raising Little Shoots Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 I didn't know you had a blog! There goes my afternoon... you didn't? Come on over & have a poke around ;) I am also hosting a 'nature pen-friends swap' that you might be interested in. Thank you very much for your feedback on the earthworm study. I love to hear comments like this :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) We have tiny nature notebooks right now...maybe 4x6"? They are bound, and a pain to work with! I'll definitely be going with larger, spiral notebooks for the coming year! I haven't figured out size yet...we may end up with 9x12 because they are easier to find. I like Handbook of Nature Study for gathering information and Natural Science Through the Seasons for planning out our nature studies. For the coming year, we'll finally be getting around to Simply Charlotte Mason's Outdoor Secrets Guide (it's been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple years now). It schedules Outdoor Secrets (a vintage chapter book), some picture books from the library, poems, and nature topics with a few simple projects for the year. Part of lesson includes writing in their notebooks. We have been very negligent with actually using our notebooks, so I'm hoping this will get them going! It's geared toward lower elementary ages, so you might be interested. Edited March 25, 2016 by Holly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 My kids have very small nature journals too. Maybe half the size of normal printer paper? 4x6 sounds right. I love the small size because my kids tend to draw small. So then it looks like this tiny drawing in a ton of white space. Then they get overwhelmed feeling like they have to fill a whole page. Plus it fits easily in a jacket pocket or small bag. We also invested in small travel watercolor sets (we Carry baby food jars of water) and when our regular color pencils get half-sized they get thrown in another small travel case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 My kids have very small nature journals too. Maybe half the size of normal printer paper? 4x6 sounds right. I love the small size because my kids tend to draw small. So then it looks like this tiny drawing in a ton of white space. Then they get overwhelmed feeling like they have to fill a whole page. Plus it fits easily in a jacket pocket or small bag. We also invested in small travel watercolor sets (we Carry baby food jars of water) and when our regular color pencils get half-sized they get thrown in another small travel case. I don't think I'd mind the size of ours if it weren't for the book binding. We all have a hard time holding them open an drawing at the same time, especially with the ridiculous amount of wind we have here! Although spiral NBs have their own problems (getting tangled together, pages tearing out, etc.). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 I couldn't find one that was perfect, so I made one. I put it out for sale so others could buy it too. My kids needed a little nudge, something beyond endless blank pages, but nothing too regimented either. My Nature Journal Blog post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 We use index cards or cardstock and watercolor paper cut down to size and take half-sized clipboards on our outings. When we get home, we mount to cardstock and slide into page protectors in binders. I like Simply Charlotte Mason's Nature Journal pdf for seasonal notebook pages. https://simplycharlottemason.com/store/journaling-a-year-in-nature/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyh Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 Thanks you all! Good info here! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raising Little Shoots Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 My kids have very small nature journals too. Maybe half the size of normal printer paper? 4x6 sounds right. I love the small size because my kids tend to draw small. So then it looks like this tiny drawing in a ton of white space. Then they get overwhelmed feeling like they have to fill a whole page. Plus it fits easily in a jacket pocket or small bag. We also invested in small travel watercolor sets (we Carry baby food jars of water) and when our regular color pencils get half-sized they get thrown in another small travel case. Lovely ideas for little ones :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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